Shane Andrews had the type of sports career that most children can only dream of.

He was a member of multiple state championship teams with the Carlsbad Cavemen, he was a first-round pick in the 1990 MLB draft and spent seven years in the majors, playing for the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox.

On Friday, Andrews was officially inducted into the Carlsbad Hall of Fame by Mayor Dale Janway and took his place aside other greats among the City of Carlsbad.

"It's such an honor," Andrews said after his induction. "I grew up here. I love the people here. I've always come back here because I've had tremendous support from family and friends and the community. I'm very blessed with the outcome today. I love you all and thank you very much."

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Andrews moved to Carlsbad from Texas when he was four years old and has always considered the city his true home. A pioneer for Caveman baseball, Andrews was the first Caveman to play for the varsity baseball team as a freshmen.

He was an integral part in the team winning three consecutive state titles his sophomore, junior and senior years before he was drafted by the Montreal Expos with the 11th overall pick in the 1990 draft and was the first player to hit an MLB home run in the 2000s.

"People call Carlsbad a baseball town," Mayor Dale Janway said during his induction speech. "The gentleman we're inducting today is one of the main reasons we have that title...Shane Andrews himself has inspired a new generation of players such as Cody Ross and Trevor Rodgers."

Bobby Click, a former coach of Shane Andrews, said that Andrews was already a legend when he was in eighth grade. Click worked with Andrews during the first practice in his eighth grade season. Andrews was at shortstop working on fielding drills when Click hit a ball too far away for anyone to cover in the infield, in Click's mind.

"This guy goes over and backhands it," Click said. "He plants his foot and throws a laser across the field, about three-feet high, to first base. I said 'Wow!' and turned to my catcher to ask who that was. (The catcher) looked at me like I had sprouted another head. He said, 'That's Shane Andrews.'"

From there Andrews continued to work hard to improve his skills. Anytime the baseball season was completed, Andrews would come back to Carlsbad to work out with the newer players.

“People call Carlsbad a baseball town. The gentleman we're inducting today is one of the main reasons we have that title.”

Dale Janway, Carlsbad Mayor

Eric Chavez, a teammate of Andrews when Andrews was a freshman, got to play with him not only as Cavemen, but a few years later during the Connie Mack World Series in Farmington. Even as a high schooler, Andrews could go toe-to-toe with future MLB talent.

Chavez spoke about one game against a Brooklyn team that Andrews was facing as a pitcher. Andrews was having trouble with just one hitter, otherwise striking out the other players seemingly at will.

That one player to get a few hits off him? A young Manny Ramirez (who was drafted one year after Andrews with the No. 13 pick).

Friends like Steve Garza, who knew Andrews before the two attended grade school, considered him a great friend, noting that even his children refer to Andrews as "Uncle Shane."

"I think he's a better person than he is a ballplayer," Garza said. "One word comes to mind when you describe him: Humble. He did everything that we all dreamed of doing as little ballplayers. It was always about his teammates, his coaches and everyone else."

Andrews kept his induction speech short and spent a long time speaking with attendees to answer any questions they had.

With another Carlsbad product currently in the MLB pipeline as a pitcher, Trevor Rodgers, Andrews believes that Rodgers simply has to keep working hard and he believes Rodgers will make it to the Show one day.

"Trevor and I talk some," Andrews said. "I talk to his mother and father. He's an amazing athlete with tremendous talent. I expect he'll be in Double A baseball if not at the start of the season, by the end of the season. It's just maturity as you go on. Trevor's got the talent, he just needs to fine-tune his game and he'll be there (in the MLB)."